Spring 2009
Ingenuity
Best Sellers
Facing digital tide, small Vermont bookstores find ways to remain vital
By Sky Barsch
While some businesses sway and topple under pressure from the Internet, Vermont's small independent bookstores — community-focused, inventive and guided by a human touch — are finding ways to secure their future in the face of Amazon, Kindle and whatever digital advances may follow.
It's not easy — certainly more a labor of love than a path to riches — but Vermont's "buy local" culture helps sustain these owners, whose shops are pillars of civic literacy, cherished places to browse and ennobling anchors on Main Street.
In Montpelier, for instance, there are still four independent bookstores operating in a town with just 8,000 people.
"Four bookstores — I'm not really sure how we do it," says Claire Benedict, owner of Bear Pond Books, the leading destination in the state capital for new books and general audience reading. "We have a very literate crowd and a community that understands buying local."
Still, Benedict — and the owners of more than 30 other independent bookstores in Vermont — must constantly invent new tactics and rediscover old ones.
• Bear Pond Books offers readings by best-selling authors, a customer loyalty program, a well-read sales staff and an informal gathering place. The store also sells tickets to local concerts and recently held an all-night read-a-thon to raise money for the Children's Literacy Foundation.
• Briggs Carriage Bookstore in Brandon doubles as a café and venue for live music, and is home to clubs revolving around chess, French and Dungeons & Dragons.
• The Bookworm's Exchange, run for 25 years by Bev Brown in South Burlington, has created a niche in used romance and mystery books; the nearby Barnes & Noble superstore will even refer customers Brown's way.
• The Norwich Bookstore in the White River Valley acts as a link between customers and children in need with a "Book Angels" program.
For many Vermonters, there is clearly more to a bookstore than the lowest price. "We really try to make ourselves a part of the community," Benedict says. "That's something the chains and the Internet are never going to do."
Liza Bernard, who co-owns The Norwich Bookstore with Penny McConnel, says: "We are very, very involved in our community. We have a rewards program where we give 1 percent of what they spend to one of five nonprofits, and they get to choose which nonprofit."
The Norwich Bookstore also coordi-nates with the Norwich Public Library to bring big-name authors to town. "We do community service in the name of books," Bernard says. "We don't just sit behind the counter and wait for someone to come get a book."
Chris Morrow runs Vermont's largest independent bookstore, Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center. To stand up to his biggest competitor, which he says is Amazon, he and the staff at Northshire focus on the shopping experience.
"The core of what we do is focusing on our customers, and we have excellent people on staff — both our buyers and our booksellers," Morrow says. "And we've worked hard over the years to create an ambiance that is appealing to customers. So when people come here, they have an experience, it's not just a transaction."
Morrow also stays on top of reading and media trends. He says he hustled to get an Espresso Book Machine, which prints a paperback book from a PDF file in a matter of minutes. He, like many of the book retailers, sends out an e-newsletter with monthly events and specials and has a purchasing system on his website.
Matthew Gibbs, who owns Briggs Carriage Bookstore with his wife, Barbara Ebling, says achieving a livable income from the bookselling business is difficult. He stays competitive by having a large selection. He knows he can reorder popular books and have them shipped in two days, so instead of clogging the shelves with dozens of copies of hot sellers, he keeps a few on hand and saves shelf space for more variety. And ultimately, he makes his store about a larger purpose than cash register receipts.
"We love what we do, and we can and do make it work, Gibbs said. "I have a love for books. There's something inexplicable about finding just the right book for just the right person at just the right time."
Social studies
"We don't just sit behind the counter and wait for someone to come get a book," says Liza Bernard of The Norwich Bookstore. Here are some directions that Vermont booksellers follow to keep their stores vibrant in the digital era.
Culture
Many bookstores become cultural hubs, serving as informal gathering places, cafés, club venues and ticket sellers.
Community
Programs tied to literacy and other charitable projects strengthen ties to the community.
Human Touch
Knowledgeable staff and an inviting atmosphere keep customers coming back.
